Mulisa vows to keep unbeaten run in 2017

APR FC coach Jimmy Mulisa has said he will be aiming to keep the winning impetus that his team has built since he took over in November last year. The league champions finished 2016 in a second place on the league table, two points behind arch-rivals Rayon Sports. The former Rwanda international took charge of his former club on November 30 last year, replacing Yves Rwasamanzi, who had been appointed interim coach following the sacking of Gilbert ‘Yaoundé’ Kanyankore less than a month into the job. Despite a modest start under Rwasamanzi during which the military side managed eight points from four games (two wins and two draws), Mulisa remains unbeaten after registering six wins and a draw. On Friday, the army side, chasing a record-extending 16th league title, ended the year in style when they ended Espoir FC’s unbeaten run in a 2-0 win away in Rusizi, courtesy of goals from Djihad Bizimana and Patrick Sibomana. The win kept Mulisa’s team within touching distance on the leaders Rayon Sports, who also remain unbeaten after eleven rounds of matches (nine wins and two draws). “It was not a good start for the team as the defending champions but we have managed to get back on track,” said Mulisa after Friday’s win at a ground where visiting teams rarely pick a win. The ex-professional added that, “I think since I have been here, we have built a winning momentum while at the same time playing good football for our fans to enjoy. I can’t remember the last time we didn’t play well, but we have to stay focused and keep the momentum going.” Apart from the league, Mulisa and APR will also have the CAF Champions League, which starts in February as well as the Peace Cup. The Rwanda side has been drawn against Zambia’s Zanaco FC in the preliminary round and will play the first leg away on the weekend of February 10-12 at Sunset stadium in Lusaka before hosting the return leg in Kigali a week later. “My ambition is clear, I want to reach the group stages of this competition (CAF Champions League), I believe in my team and I am very happy that the players are responding well to the philosophy I am trying to build here,” he said recently. Since they made their debut in Africa’s biggest club competition in 1997, APR have never reached the group stages whereas their opponents Zanaco reached the last 16 in 2010, their best record so far. editorial@newtimes.co.rw